One Shot in the Dark
by Winchestersliveon
Summary: This will be a collection of one shots about the Winchester brothers, any age and anything. I will try to update as much as possible. Suggestions welcome! I will do AU's if requested.
1. Chapter 1: Sink or Swim

Sink or Swim

It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and better yet, it was one of the few days the Winchesters had "off". They had just come back from a week long hunt, a vamp nest in Michigan, and they were currently crashing at a motel just off the highway. It was one of the nicer motels the boys had stayed at, nice showers, no mysterious stains on the bed sheets, and best yet, it had a pool. When Dean had checked them in, the lady at the desk gave them the usual talk.

"No running in the halls, no loud noise past ten, and our pool closes at nine." She had said in a monotone voice. At the mention of a pool, Dean's face lit up in a way that Sam hadn't seen in a long time. As soon as they had gotten to their room, Dean riffled through his duffle bag, grabbed his swim suit, threw Sam's at him, and dashed into the bathroom to change. Sam sighed and quickly changed. When Dean got out, he grabbed two towels and, beckoning Sam to follow him, turned in the direction of a pool. Sam grabbed a book and followed him.

"When's the last time we stayed anywhere as nice as this, Sam?" Dean asked over his shoulder.

"Not in a long time." Sam replied. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he had seen Dean so excited for something that wasn't hunting. Soon they got to the pool. Dean pushed open the doors and sighed in contentment when he saw the pool and hot tub.

"See Sammy, _this _is the way to live." Dean threw the towels on a chair and took a running jump into the deep end of the pool. Sam chuckled and settled down into one of the chairs by the side and cracked open his book. Just when he had gotten into the book, he felt water splash his legs. He out down his book and saw Dean looking proud of himself by the side of the pool.

"Really Dean? I'm trying to do research." Sam said exasperatedly.

"Sammy, please, you gotta learn to stop and smell the roses! It's a beautiful day, and I can't remember the last time we got a day off. Just relax for once in your life!" Dean replied with the same tone.

"Firstly, it's Sam. Secondly, the apocalypse is not going to stop itself. You swim, I'm going to research." Sam had just gotten back into his book when he felt strong arms pick him up bridal-style and throw him into the pool. Sam came spluttering to the surface with laughter ringing in his ears. His head whipped around to see Dean doubled over laughing in the shallow end, looking extremely proud of himself..

"You're a friggin' jerk!" Sam said loudly, swimming over to Dean. Dean was laughing too hard to care until he felt himself be pushed under the water.

"Oh, so you wanna play like that do you Sammy?" Dean said resurfacing, lunging at Sam. Both men were too immersed in their play to notice anything wrong until they heard a deep monotone voice proclaim from the other end of the pool, "I do not understand why this is so pleasurable to you."

Both of the Winchester's heads whipped around to see Cas, fully clothed, standing in the middle of the pool with a confused look on his face. Both men were shocked at the sight in front of them. Then, they both burst into laughter simultaneously. They continued until they were both in tears, the sight in front of them just too funny to keep it in. Cas watched them with a disgruntled look on his face, not understanding what was so funny.

"Cas, buddy," Dean said when he had gotten a hold of himself, "Next time you should wear a swimsuit before jumping into a pool."

"I am wearing a suit, I don't understand what you mean." Cas said, still looking confused. At this the Winchesters burst into laughter again, both struggling to catch their breath.

"A swim suit," Sam said breathlessly, "Like this." He said pointing to his own.

"Oh." Cas said, disappearing and reappearing moments later wearing a swimsuit very similar to Sam's. Sam and Dean both found this very amusing, but chose to just swim lengths instead.

"Oh Cas, what did you want anyways?" Dean asked.

"It is not important. It can wait." Cas said from his perch on the diving board. He was trying to figure out how it worked. He was still peering over the side when he was tossed unceremoniously into the water. When he surfaced, he was looking up to Dean's smug face.

"Dean, why was that necessary?" Cas asked.

"It wasn't, it was just hilarious." Dean replied.

"Oh, in that case." The next thing Dean knew he was being pulled head first into the water. He arose to laughter from Sam and a proud look from Cas. Dean laughed right along with them. The apocalypse was on hold for now, and he was with the two people he cared about most. Life was good with the Winchesters


	2. Chapter 2:Man's Best Friend

**Hello! I know that it's been forever since I last updated, and for that I am very sorry. Life got in the way and I have had a month of camping that was unplanned. Thanks to Reading Ella, 221bdeductions, guest, and mb64 for reviewing. Without you guys there would not be this chapter. This one shot is based off of mb64's request:****_ I will suggest something Weechesters where they find a puppy, and Sam is heartbroken when they can't keep it. Hopefully big brother Dean will make him feel better though._**** Thank you for the suggestions, and I hope I did it justice. Without further ado, here it is! Reviews are very welcome!**

Man's Best Friend

"One more lap, boys!" John shouted from his window. He was looking for cases, having just finished a simple salt-and-burn. Sam and Dean were training, and currently running the last mile in their five mile run.

"I'm exhausted" Sam whined ten minutes later. He was only ten years old, and his legs weren't long enough to keep up with his brother, nor was his endurance as strong. "Can we slow down?" He asked for the fifth time in as many minutes.

"Fine." Dean snapped, slowing down to a jog. He was frustrated that Sam couldn't keep up, and knew their father wouldn't be happy that they were taking so long.

"Hey look! There's something moving over there!" Sam exclaimed, pointing some ways ahead of them.

"It's probably just a squirrel." Dean sighed. _Why is this kid so damn curious?_ He groaned internally.

Sam shot Dean his best bitchface and ran to go see what it was. Dean sighed but followed his brother, just in case whatever it was wasn't friendly.

"Dean!" Sam shouted. Dean ran up to his brother, who was crouched behind a stump, and immediately began checking for injuries.

"What?! What's wrong Sa- oh it's just a dog." Dean said, instantly relaxing.

"He's not 'just a dog'. He's perfect! Can we keep him?" Sam asked and looked up at Dean with his best puppy dog eyes. Dean's heart melted, he knew their father would never let them, but damn did he want to let Sam keep the dog anyways. But he knew he couldn't.

"Sammy, you know we can't keep him. What do you think Dad'll day when he sees we brought home a dog?" Dean said gently. Sam's face fell and he buried his face in the dogs fur. Tears began to fall. Dean's heart broke when he saw the tears, but he kept his face blank as he said "Now c'mon, we need to keep moving."

Sam spent a few more minutes saying goodbye to the dog, then whispered something in the dog's ear that Dean didn't catch. Sam then rose and started running as fast as he could. Dean sighed and began to follow his brother. It was several more minutes before he reached the motel they were staying at. When he got in he saw Sam sulking on the couch, while their dad was getting ready to leave.

"I'm going out to get some food." John said without so much as a 'hello'. "Neither of you are to leave the motel. And pack up, because I found a case. We'll be leaving as soon as I get back. Understand?" John asked as he grabbed his keys.

"Yes, sir." Dean said as he moved towards his bed. John left and Dean heard the Impala pull out and leave. He knew there would only be time for one shower before their dad got back, so he decided to let Sam have it to make up for not letting him keep the dog.

"You go shower, I'll pack up." Sam moved towards the bathroom without a word. Dean heard the shower start, as he got to work packing up. Fifteen minutes later there was a knock at the door. Figuring it was his dad, he opened the door to find Sam standing there with the dog they had found.

"Sam! What are you doing! I thought you were in the shower!" Dean said, ushering Sam into the room. The dog followed close behind. "Dad told us both not to leave the house. And I told you already we can't keep the dog."

"His name is Max and I promised him I would go back and get him." Sam said settling down on the couch. It dawned on Dean that that was what Sam had whispered to the dog.

"Sam, Dad is going to flip when he gets home and sees-" Dean cut off as his dad entered the room.

"When I see what?" John said angrily. He looked around Dean and finally laid eyes on Max. "What the hell is a dog doing in our rooms?" John asked angrily, raising his voice.

"I found it in the woods when I went out for a walk and thought that Sam would like it." Dean said quickly before Sam could say anything.

"You what!? I specifically forbid you to leave the motel, and you know we can't bring a dog around with us! How could you be so stupid Dean!" John shouting, directing all his fury on his eldest. Sam had remained quiet through this exchange, but seeing Dean take all the blame made him speak up. "Dad no it's my-" "You stay out of this!" John said, cutting off Sam.

"Dean, you will have all privileges taken away from you. You will have an extra three miles and one hundred push-ups added to your training. You will also be put on gun cleaning duty for the next month. If you ever disobey me like this again, trust me when you say you don't know what I will do." John finished threateningly. "Sam, take that dog outside and let it go." Sam complied quietly. "And Dean, grab all the bags and go out to the car."

"Yes, sir." Dean replied, and hurried to do just so. When he got outside he saw that Max was nowhere in sight, and Sam was sitting in the back seat of the Impala. Dean winked at Sam and mouthed "Bitch." when he passed by his window. Sam cracked a small smile and mouthed "Jerk." right back at him. Dean put the bags away with a smile on his face. He may have gotten in humongous trouble, but it was worth it to put a smile on Sam's face.

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading! Please please please review, it keeps me going :). I will be posting a one shot based off of the guests review next, so please stay tuned!**


	3. Chapter 3: Hunters Never Sleep

**Hi! I'm back (finally). Sorry for not updating, but school has been pretty hectic. But I'm here now! Thanks so much to flygirl33, Reading Ella, mb64, and lillianaelizabeth for reviewing! Reviews may not take much time out of your day, but they mean a lot to me. So in my order of requests a guest request is actually ahead of this one, but inspiration has not struck me for that one yet so I thought I would do this one instead (one is better than none, right?)**

**The prompt was from ****Reading Ella:**_** Do you have any interest in writing one about the boys when they're really little and they play a game or fall asleep in the backseat of the impala while their dad is driving and it's way past little kid's bedtimes but he keeps driving anyway to get to the next hunt?**_

**I decided to write this one from John's perspective, so I hope I got the voice right. As always, reviews are much appreciated. Enjoy!**

**Ages: Dean – 9 Sam - 5**

Hunters Never Sleep

"Deeeeeeean! You cheated!" Sam wailed from the back.

"I did not! It's not my fault you don't know the rules!" Dean countered.

"How can I learn the rules when you keep changing them every five minutes?" Sam threw the game at the back seat. All this whining was grating on John's nerves. If they didn't stop in five se-

"Stop being such a baby!" Dean yelled back at Sam. OK, John had had enough.

"Would you two stop fighting? Can't you see I'm trying to drive?" John hollered at them both. Sam cowered back in his seat while Dean's face got two shades whiter. Sam said softly "Sorry, Dad." while Dean muttered "Sorry, sir." "How about this? Let's play the quiet game. First one to talk gets out of the car and walks. Sound good?" As he expected, he got no response. "Good." John turned his full attention back to the road.

It's not that he liked losing his temper. Every time he did he felt awful about it afterwards. But in the moment he could never seem to stop himself. Someone would set him off and then there was no stopping his rage. And when that happened the only one who had ever been able to calm him down was Mary._ God, Mary… _The pain of losing his wife had been unimaginable. They hadn't had the perfect marriage, far from it. But he would rather an imperfect marriage with a wife who was always there for him, than have to watch her burn up on the ceiling every night in his dreams, reliving the horrific moment his wife and the mother of his children was stolen from him by the very thing he was hunting.

_The yellow-eyed demon. _The thing that had caused all the suffering and pain that his family had gone through. That's why he had to hunt it- he had to make it pay. Feel the pain that he had felt. Have his life ended the way Mary's was all those years ago. Then John would be able to rest and give Sam and Dean the life they deserved. They didn't deserve this, this driving around all the time, never staying in one place for too long, never establishing roots, never having a _real _home. The only thing his boys had was each other.

He was getting close though. The demon had been sighted in Madison, South Dakota. This meant that he could drop the boys at Bobby's while he checked out the town. Bobby was a good person, and an even better hunter. He would say Bobby was a friend, but he wasn't sure that the other man liked him. He disagreed with John's parenting, which had sparked many an argument between them. But it comforted John to know that the boys were staying with someone who could take care of them if something went south on the hunt.

They were still at least five hours from Bobby's, and it was already eight o'clock. But there wasn't any point in stopping for the night, that would just waste time. The boys would just have to sleep in the car. John cringed at the idea of making them sleep in such an uncomfortable position, but they would just have to deal with it.

A noise from the back caught his attention. When he looked in the mirror he saw Sam curled up with his head on Dean's lap, while Dean had his arm around Sam. They were both fast asleep, the noise having been Sam shifting in his sleep. Their faces looked so innocent while they slept, not giving away the hard life they lived. John sighed and turned his attention back to the road. Sleep wasn't for him, anyways. Hunters never sleep.

**Short, I know, but I will be sure to try and update within the next week or so to make up for it!**


	4. Chapter 4: Burn, Burn, Burn

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has followed and reviewed in my time that I've been gone, your input is what inspired me to keep this going. I've actually had this one written for a while but for some reason haven't typed it up. Anyways, thank you! This story is based off a prompt from a guest:****What about and young Sam and Dean on a hunt with their father. And since I love hurt!Sam... what if he was trying to tell his father a hunch he had about whatever they were hunting was not what John thought but John didn't listen... so when they go to kill thing Sam has to save both his dad and Dean, but gets hurt in the process.**

"I'm telling you, Dad! It's not a werewolf! The moon cycle is completely off, and what's mor-"

"Stop!" John shouted, cutting off Sam. "Everything else points to a werewolf, and you haven't even said what you think it is if it's not a werewolf."

"Hey, hey, guys, calm down," Dean said, trying to keep peace.

"I don't know what it is, but-" Sam ignored Dean, but was cut off once again by John.

"If you don't know what it is, then shut up. I've had enough of your insubordination." With that John stormed out of the motel room, not even bothering to grab his coat, probably off to the nearest bar. Sam sat down with a huff on the couch. Dean walked around to stand beside him and put his hand on Sam's shoulder.

"C'mon, you know how Dad is, don't take it-"

"Why are you defending him?" Sam asked angrily, pushing Dean's hand off his shoulder. "You always take his side! You _know _that I'm right. Why can't you just take my side for once?"

"Sammy, you know how stubborn Dad is. Do you really think my taking your side would convince him?" Dean asked calmly, walking around to sit beside his brother.

"Well, maybe not, but still," Sam sighed, still looking disgruntled.

"I know kid, I know. But what are you gonna do?" Dean put his arm around Sam's shoulder. "Now c'mon, let's watch a movie or something." Sam sighed but relented, dropping the subject.

"Fine, but we aren't watching Batman again." Sam smiled, knowing that his protest would be ignored.

Dean grinned. "That's what you think."

…

"C'mon, boys, let's move out," John whispered. They were in the forest where the supposed werewolf was thought to hang around. They all grabbed their guns and started moving forward. John motioned for Sam to go left and Dean to go right, while he went down the center.

Sam reluctantly moved off to the side, mentally grumbling as he went. His dad still hadn't listened to him. His dad was too stubborn for his own good; Sam _knew_ the thing they were hunting wasn't a werewolf, the signs were all wrong. But his dad wouldn't listen to him because Sam wasn't sure what it _was_, he just knew what it _wasn't_.

The signs didn't point to anything he had seen before; yes, the organs were missing, but the bodies also contained traces of poison.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air, derailing Sam's train of thought. Sam turned and sprinted towards the direction of the scream. Branches whipped him in the face as he ran, but he didn't care; his family was in trouble.

Much too long for Sam's liking later, he reached a clearing. When he first burst into it, he didn't see anything. Then he heard the groans coming from the ground. He looked down and saw Dean lying on the ground with a large gash in his side. Sam ran over to him and quickly removed his shirt to staunch the bleeding in his brother's side.

"Dean? Dean!" Sam half-shouted at his brother. Dean hazily tried to focus on his brother's face. "Stay with me, De," Sam said loudly, reverting back to using his nickname for Dean when they were little.

"Sammy?" Dean asked sleepily. "Wait, Sammy!" Dean grabbed Sam's face, bringing his attention to his brother's expression and words rather than the wound in his side. "You were right, it's not a werewolf. I was walking, looking for it, when it got the jump on me. It dropped down from the trees and one of its claws caught me in the side. Dad ran into the clearing and shot at it before it could do any more damage; the thing took off and Dad right along after it."

"He left you here?" Sam asked angrily.

"Sammy, it doesn't matter now. Go after Dad, he may be in trouble," Dean pushed, groaning as he tried to push himself into a sitting position. Sam grabbed his brother's arm and carefully moved him over to lean against a tree.

"Fine, I will, but keep that shirt in place." Sam grabbed his gun and ran towards the sounds of a scuffle after he saw Dean nod wearily.

Sam moved quickly and quietly, hoping to have the element of surprise on his side; the monster hadn't spotted him yet, it may think there's only two hunters here. Soon he reached another, smaller, clearing. He quietly peeked through the trees. There he saw his dad battling a monstrous beast at least twice his height. Neither had noticed Sam yet, they were both too focused on the problem in front of them. Sam ducked back into the bushes, trying desperately to think of a plan.

He knew the silver bullets they had brought must not work, because he had heard several gunshots and the thing was still standing. Sam had brought along his machete, a lighter, and some gasoline just in case; although he had listened to his dad, he truly believed that they weren't hunting a werewolf. Although he had brought those things along, that didn't mean he could actually get close enough to actually use them. If his brother had failed, who was to say that he could do any better?

His father yelled out in equal parts shock and pain, shaking Sam out of his thoughts. He had to think fast. Sam looked around and a plan sprung into his head; he knew what he had to do.

He began to quickly climb the nearest tree; time was of the essence. Once Sam thought he was high enough, he climbed out on a branch that was positioned just above the things head. Once positioned, he quickly uncapped his gasoline and emptied onto the monsters head. It was so wrapped up in battling Sam's father it didn't even realize until it was too later.

Sam flicked his lighter and dropped it on the things head. With a surprised look from John, the thing caught on fire. It let out a primal scream of utter anguish as it burned up into nothing.

Sam scrambled down from his perch and ran to see if his father was ok. John had a small gash on his shoulder but otherwise looked alright.

"Sam! What were you thinking! You could have been killed!" John exclaimed angrily, checking to see if Sam was ok. "And where is your shirt?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Sam said, brushing off his dad's searching gaze. "I was thinking I would save your butt," he said defensively. "Now come on, we have to go get Dean! You left him in rough shape. I used my shirt to staunch the bleeding but he isn't going to last long unless we get him to a hospital." Sam shot his father an accusing glare, and took off towards where he had last seen his brother.

By the time he got back to Dean, his brother had lost a lot of blood.

"Dad, he's lost a lot of blood. We need to get him to the hospital, can you carry him or do you need help?" Sam asked anxiously, trying to remain calm but feeling panic rising in his chest. What if they were too late? What if the poison from the things claws had already taken over?

Sam shook his head. No, he couldn't think like that, he would just drive himself crazy. John picked up Dean and Sam followed his brother and his father out to the car. He helped his dad lower Dean into the back seat and rode with his brother's head in his lap.

It wasn't until many stressful hours, tests, and near breakdowns later when a doctor assured them that Dean would make a full recovery that Sam finally relaxed. But he didn't fully relax until another hour later when he was finally allowed to see his brother.

Dean appeared to be asleep when Sam walked into the room. He pulled a chair up to the bed and cringed when it screeched against the floor. Dean wearily opened his eyes and raised the bed into a sitting position.

"Heya, Sammy." Dean gave his brother a weary grin.

"Dean, I'm sorry for waking you, I can leave if you wa-" Dean cut off his rambling brother.

"Sammy, stay. I wouldn't even be alive right now if it wasn't for you," Dean reassured his brother. "Where's Dad?"

"He managed to avoid being checked out by the doctors by leaving as soon as he checked you in and gave them our credit card number," Sam said, clearly disapproving of his father's leaving.

"Sammy, lay off him. I'm fine, thanks to you. No credit to him. Calm down before you have an aneurism and end up in here too. Although, I can see how you would be eager to end up in these luxurious accommodations. What, with the comfy beds," Dean hit the nearly rock hard bed, "The five star food," he gestured to the grey mush that served as dinner, "And the smoking hot nurses." Dean said the last part quietly as the hideous nurse Hilda passed by the room. Sam laughed, glad that his brother was feeling well enough to make jokes.

"Dean, you're ridiculous." Sam laughed again.

"That may be, but at least I got you to lighten up." Dean grinned.

"Alright, I'm going to let you get some sleep." Sam rose from his seat.

"Naw, stay, I'll get lonely otherwise," Dean said, grinning. Sam sat back down, grinning back.

"Fine, but you have to sleep. I'll just read." Sam picked up one of the trashy Hollywood magazine.

"Ah, yes. The quality literature." Dean settled back down into a lying position and grinned cheekily. Sam smirked and started reading. His brother would be fine, and if his brother was fine, Sam would be fine. Everything would be okay.


End file.
